Hermes
---- ---- In Greek mythology, Hermes was the Olympian god of animal husbandry, roads, travel, hospitality, heralds, diplomacy, trade, thievery, language, writing, persuasion, cunning wiles, athletic contests, gymnasiums, astronomy, and astrology. In the Roman adaptation of the pantheon, Hermes was renamed Mercury, and tretained most of his charcteristics-- and even gaining some, like god of commerce. Hermes was also identified with other gods like Thoth, Anubis and Odin. Hermes was the son of Zeus and the Pleiad Maia. He was also the personal agent and herald of Zeus, the king of the gods. He was the second youngest of the Olympian gods, ahead of Dionysus. He was worshiped throughout Greece -- especially in Arcadia -- and festivals in his honor were called Hermoea. Being the herald (messenger of the gods), it was his duty to guide the souls of the dead down to the underworld, which is known as a psychopomp. He was also closely connected with bringing dreams to mortals. He is depicted as very cunning and wily, and his quick thinking often got him out of tough situations. His symbols were his staff, the caduceus; his winged sandals, which flew faster than Zeus' thunderbolts; and the ram, from the myth about Apollo and his birth. Name Etymology The name Hermes has been thought, to be derived from the Greek word herma (ἕρμα), which denotes a square or rectangular pillar with the head of Hermes (usually with a beard) adorning the top of the pillar and ithyphallic male genitals below. However, due to the god's attestation in the Mycenaean pantheon, as Hermes Araoia ("Ram Hermes") in Linear B inscriptions at Pylos and Mycenaean Knossos (Ventris and Chadwick), the connection is more likely to have moved the opposite way, from deity to pillar representations. From the subsequent association of these cairns—which were used in Athens to ward off evil and to designate road and boundary markers all over Greece—Hermes acquired patronage over land travel. Given his role in sharing information between domains (most typically as a messenger between the divine and mortal realms), the figure of Hermes became a metaphor for translation. As such, the classical Greek term for an interpreter, whose main function is to bridge the boundaries between strangers, is a hermeneus. Through this intermediate step, Hermes also gives us the modern philosophical term "hermeneutics," which gains additional meaning when one recalls the tendency of Hermes, the consummate trickster, to purposefully confuse or occlude his messages. Ephithets Hermes was given many epithets in ancient Greece denoting his multifarious roles. The most important of these epithets are identified below: *Acacesius, "the god who cannot be hurt, or who does not hurt" *Agoraios, of the agora *Argeiphontes, Argus-slayer, which recalls the ultimate conclusion of his encounter with the many-eyed giant Argus Panoptes] *Charidotes, giver of charm *Cyllenius, born on Mount Cyllene *Diaktoros, the messenger *Dolios, the schemer *Enagonios, of the (Olympic) games *Epimelius, keeper of the flocks *Eriounios, bringer of luck *Logios refers to Hermes' skill as an orator, the god of eloquence. Together with Athena, he was the standard divine representation of eloquence in classical Greece *Polygius, meaning "unknown" *Psychopompos, conveyor of souls Cult Hermes, though never a central deity, was a fixture in the Cultic religion of the classical Greeks. As Mikalson notes, "we hear little of and Pan in highly agricultural and urbane... Athens, but they are prominent in the more mountainous areas of Greece such as Arcadia, their homeland in the Peloponnesus. The rural and nomadic nature of herding and herdsmen may partially explain why the Athenians established no centralized, state cult to acknowledge this function of those deities." Though altars dedicated to Hermes existed throughout Greece, a major center of his cult was at Pheneos in Arcadia, where festivals in his honor were called Hermoea. As a result, roadways in both cities and country sides were liberally populated with stone artifacts called herms, which depicted Hermes and his erect phallus. In mythology While Hermes was certainly an important deity for the early Greek people (as attested to by the prominence of his cult), his presence in surviving mythic accounts is somewhat minimal. Aside from the involved and humourous account of his birth described in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes, his presence in other mythic tales is either tangential or functional (i.e. where he fulfills the role of the messenger for the other Olympians). Birth According to legend, Hermes was born in a cave on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. Zeus had impregnated Maia at the dead of night while all other gods slept. When dawn broke amazingly he was born. Maia wrapped him in swaddling bands, then resting herself, fell fast asleep. Hermes, however, squirmed free and ran off to Thessaly. This is where Apollo, his brother, grazed his cattle. Hermes stole a number of the herd and drove them back to Greece. He hid them in a small grotto near to the city of Pylos and covered their tracks. Before returning to the cave he caught a tortoise, killed it and removed its entrails. Using the intestines from a cow stolen from Apollo and the hollow tortoise shell, he made the first lyre. When he reached the cave he wrapped himself back into the swaddling bands. When Apollo realized he had been robbed he protested to Maia that it had been Hermes who had taken his cattle. Maia looked to Hermes and said it could not be, as he is still wrapped in swaddling bands. Zeus the all powerful intervened saying he had been watching and Hermes should return the cattle to Apollo. As the argument went on, Hermes began to play his lyre. The sweet music enchanted Apollo, and he offered Hermes to keep the cattle in exchange for the lyre. Apollo later became the grand master of the instrument, and it also became one of his symbols. Later while Hermes watched over his herd he invented the pipes known as a syrinx (pan-pipes), which he made from reeds. Hermes was also credited with inventing the flute. Apollo, also desired this instrument, so Hermes bartered with Apollo and received his golden wand which Hermes later used as his heralds staff. (In other versions Zeus gave Hermes his heralds staff). Miscellany on Hermes * Hermes rescued Zeus' love Io from the hundred-eyed giant Argus, by lulling his hundred eyes to sleep using his lyre and then killing him. * Hermes plotted with Cadmus and rescued Zeus's sinews from the monster Typhon. * He assisted in the creation of Pandora, the first woman, and delivered her to Epimetheus. * Hermes seduced the Arcadian girl Penelope disguised as a shepherd. * He seduced the Athenian princess Herse and turned her obstructive sister Agraulos into a stone. * Hermes pursued and raped the Cretan princess Apemosyne on the island of Rhodes. * He helped Perseus in his quest to slay the monster Medousa. * He guided Heracles to the underworld in his mission to fetch Cerberus. * He assisted Odysseus in his encounter with the witch Circe. * He transformed the tell-tale Battos into a stone for telling Apollo that he was the one who had stolen the god's cattle. * He transformed the nymphe Chelone into a tortoise as punishment for ignoring his calls to attend the wedding of Zeus and Hera. * He metamorphosed the tell-tale Hierax into a hawk as punishment for telling the Gigante Argus that he had come to steal his ward Io. In modern culture Books *In his 1931 novel, The Night Life of the Gods, American fantasy author and humorist Thorne Smith prominently depicted Hermes (under the Roman name Mercury) as a statue brought to life, in addition to a few other figures from Classical mythology. *Ingeborg Bachmann Prize-winning author Sten Nadolny's 1998 comic novel, The God of Impertinence, tells of Hermes being freed in the late 20th Century after being trapped in a volcano for 2000 years. *The 2006 fantasy Herald (novel), by N.F. Houck, is an autobiographical depiction of Hermes. In the novel, Hermes also retells many Greek and Roman myths from his point of view up to the final formation of the Olympian gods. *The young adult novel Quicksilver, by Stephanie Spinner (not be be confused with Quicksilver (novel), by Neal Stephenson), is a depiction of the Greek myths told from Hermes' point of view. In it, Hermes tells the myths of Perseus, the seasons, and the Trojan war, among others. *On January 11th, 2007, J. K. Rowling signed a statue of Hermes in her room at the Balmoral hotel in Edinburgh, Scotland upon completing the last novel of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. She was staying in the hotel at the time to complete the book, and wrote, "JK Rowling finished writing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in this room (652) on 11th Jan 2007." Television and Film *Hermes appears on the animated series Class of the Titans' first episode, entitled Chaos 101. In the 1935 film adaptation of Thorne Smith's The Night Life of the Gods, Hermes/Mercury was played by American actor Paul Kaye. *Hermes was played by actor Michael Gwynn in Jason and the Argonauts, 1963. *In the Walt Disney animated feature Hercules (1997 film), Hermes was comically voiced by musician Paul Shaffer. *In Andrei Konchalovsky's 1997 television adaptation of the Odyssey, Hermes was portrayed by actor Freddy Douglas. *Hermes appeared in the Justice League Unlimited episode, The Balance, in which he instructed Wonder Woman to help Hades defeat Felix Faust. He referred to himself as the "original speedster" when Wonder Woman mistook him for the Flash. He was voiced by Jason Bateman. Potrayal Hermes is usually depicted with a broad-brimmed hat or a winged cap, winged sandals and the heralds staff (kerykeion in Greek, or Caduceus in Latin). It was often shown as a shaft with two white ribbons, although later they were represented by serpents intertwined in a figure of eight shape, and the shaft often had wings attached. The clothes he donned were usually that of a traveler, or that of a workman or shepherd. Other symbols of Hermes are the cock, tortoise and purse or pouch. Attributes Chariot None. Hermes relied solely on his winged sandals. Winged boots Hermes wore a pair of winged boots which carried him through the sky as the herald of the gods. Cap of Invisibility Hermes wore either a wide-brimmed travellers' cap or winged hat. The former was called the Cap of Aidoneus (the Unseen) for it rendered its wearer invisible. Caduceus Hermes carried a golden caduceus or herald's staff in his role as the messenger of the gods. He also used it to enduce slumber. Pipes Hermes invented the shepherd's pipes, which he traded with Apollo the god of music for certain privileges. The god however continued to play this rustic instrument. Cattle Hermes obtained a herd of divine cattle from Apollo, which he herded in the sacred pastures of Mount Olympus. Fauna *The hare was sacred to Hermes because of its proliferacy. He placed the animal amongst the stars as the constellation Lepus. Gallery Hermes2.jpg HermesStatue.jpg Category:Greek Deities Category:Greece Category:Greek gods Category:Messengers Category:Twelve Olympians Category:Greek Mythology Category:Gods Category:Tricksters